mrmbenz1

jbb So sorry to hear, but glad you were able to reschedule. Hope all is well, and if I end up at De L’Europe, I’ll be sure to report back!

jbb

Looking forward to hearing your report! I'm curious about the location as it does seem to be in a bit of a busy commercial intersection. I liaised with the concierge a bit before having to cancel and they were responsive which I took as a good sign as I've found that to not always be the case even at quite high end luxury properties. The hotel restaurants also looked interesting to us.

wjbesh

I recently spent a few nights at the WA Amsterdam after going back and forth between that and the Pulitzer/De L'Europe. I ended up very happy with my choice in spite of the higher prices at the WA, and would certainly recommend it.

First off, I thought the location was just fantastic. It was my first time in Amsterdam and I enjoyed being on the canals, I walked past the Pulitzer a few times and felt the locations were comparable...fairly quiet without being remote. I was happy not to have picked the De L'Europe on location alone, as it was located in a much busier part of the city (only a few blocks away) and over the weekend it was pretty full of tourists throughout the day. I walked over to the Conservatorium on the day I visited the Van Gogh Museum, and the common areas were very impressive; unfortunately it wasn't in the right part of the city for me as a first-time tourist.

Service was stellar, and the common areas of the hotel were nicely decorated and had an upscale atmosphere. Concierge was great and got me some last minute tables at full restaurants. The crowd was pretty heavy on families when I was there, but even though it was fairly full the hotel never once felt crowded aside from breakfast. I booked a grand premier room with a canal view; the high ceilings on the first floor room were great, but after spending hours walking around the canals I didn't really value the view that much over views of their picturesque garden in the back of the hotel (but if I go back, I'll be sure to get another first floor room with high ceilings). The room was decently large (I'm sure part of that was the ceiling height), and furnishings/fixtures in the room and bathroom were high quality and a nice mix of classic and modern styling.

richarddd

Any current thoughts on where to stay in Amsterdam? We're thinking of going next year for the Rijksmuseum's Vermeer show.

offerendum

If Rijksmuseum is the focus I would most likely choose The Conservatorium (didn´t stay so far). Otherwise I´m a big fan of the Waldorf.

richarddd

Based on this thread (and hotel pictures), the Waldorf seems more appealing and it's only a 5 minute taxi ride or 15 minute walk to the Rijksmuseum. It's amusing to see "Luxury" listed as a hotel amenity.

I wonder if a canal view is worth it.

offerendum

I had a canal view and would not pay anything substantial for it.


Looking into the garden (courtyards would probably be less nice) is even better from my point of view.

CarletonSloth

Stayed a WA in variety of rooms and each one was excellent. Most recent stay in King Superior, great location walking distance to Rijksmuseum. Service very good and quick checkin. Have stayed at a few other (Conservatorium, Other marriott for work) and WA is great size, rooms are well done, and I really like location.

richarddd

Looking at WA room types, I don't believe I've ever seen as large a range of sizes for a single room category:

KING JUNIOR SUITE
41-93 sq. m./441-1,001 sq. ft., garden views, unique features, open-plan living area

offerendum

I noticed that at the time, too. I had a junior suite with a view, today probably a separate category. If I see it correctly, the room layout is partly quite idiosyncratic. I, for example, had a rather large room with an adjoining second room that serves as a room for the minibar and as an office. So I can imagine then some 90 sqm room has a huge hallway or similar. Also, I had thought at the time that maybe then the view would "cost" 30 sqm or so.

richarddd

Your room sounds like

KING JUNIOR SUITE WITH CANAL VIEW

41-56 sq. m./441-602 sq. ft., canal view, unique features, open-plan living area. Each room includes a special feature such as an original decorative fireplace, a spacious walk-in closet, or an adjoining living/study space.
-----
Based on your post, it seemed a garden view was preferable. The canal view adds about 500€ and the range of sizes is much smaller.

offerendum

That's correct. When I stayed there were fewer categories and Junior and One Bedroom suites with both views were the same category. My special feature was the study place....

richarddd

Did you eat in their Michelin starred restaurant Spectrum? If so, how was it?

grumbler

Conservatorium or maybe Dylan.

offerendum

When I stayed it was still the Librije's Zusje and I found it good. Only the desserts were a little bit "experimentally".
Here is my report from 2016:
Trip report: Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam